Number of different threats can help Northern Counties to another win in North of Scotland Cricket Association's Senior League away at Nairn County
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Northern Counties believe that the sheer number of potential game-changers in their squad can help them to another win against Nairn County Cricket Club this weekend.
So far in 2022 things have been going well for the Inverness club, with last weekend's victories over defending Nosca Senior League champions Forres and Irvine in the Cricket Scotland Challenge Cup sending confidence sky high.
A notable aspect of their performances this season has been how many different players have made match-winning contributions.
Against Irvine, Richard Smith's 62 runs with the bat proved crucial, while the day before runs were shared by Shaun Thomas – who has provided a strong base at the top of the order alongside Alex Green in 2022 – Nuwan Eshwara and Lewis Pacey, who also then took three wickets alongside vice-captain Matty Latimer.
The previous week against Elgin it was skipper Will Ford who led the way with the bat, scoring 59 not out in another winning effort, and Ford believes the number of players who are doing well takes the pressure off everyone.
"They have some fantastic players at Nairn, but I would like to think we'll be a bit too strong – we'll see what happens," Ford explained.
"Lewis Pacey opening with the ball, he's a bit of an unknown because he's only a young lad coming up. This is probably his first year playing first team cricket, but he's a fantastic bowler with a lot of control, and he's got an extra yard of pace now that he's a bit older.
"Shaun Thomas has been absolutely with the bat and ball, and Alex Green has been the same. Alex is opening the batting for us, which has been a big change that myself and Matty (Latimer) wanted, and Shaun and Alex have added that stability.
"The biggest thing for us, what we keep coming back to, is that we're not relying on the same people to have a good game every single week.
"Somebody different has been the star every week, or making the runs or taking the wickets. That takes the pressure off the lads if they're not having a good day, or if they have other stuff going on at home.
"It means that we can rely on each other now, as opposed to thinking 'oh, David Dugdale hasn't made 80 runs, so we've got a problem'. Now other lads are doing it, which is a huge thing for a captain to be able to turn to a lot of different people.
"Mark Tucker hasn't bowled for us at all this season, but he bowled eight overs in-a-row last Sunday against Irvine, going for next to nothing and being a constant threat.
"That just shows that everyone is turning up when they're asked to. Winning has a funny way of doing that – people feel a lot more safe when they're in winning positions."
With things seemingly going so well at Counties, Ford may have a different challenge on his hands though – keeping everyone focused on the task at hand.
"We've just got to avoid complacency and avoid getting ahead of ourselves thinking that if we can beat Irvine, we can beat Nairn," he admitted.
"It's not like that, we just have to beat what's put in front of us if we can.
"They will have the same idea, they will want to beat us and come and ruin the party so to speak, so we'll just go there and treat them with every bit of respect.
"Most of the lads won't get complacent, but it's easy to – especially when you feel that results are just going for you.
"It's easy to forget that you've put a lot of hard work and effort in, and that's why things are going for you.
"It will be a big part of my role over the next wee while at training and then before the match on Saturday to remind lads that we do the things we're doing well, and we don't get complacent.
"If things start coming apart, we go back to relying on each other and trusting the process."
